What to do if your Quest 2's Facebook account gets banned

The Meta Quest 2 was the first VR headset from Meta that required a Facebook account to play when it launched in October 2020. A Facebook account makes it easy to find friends so you can socialize and play games in VR together, but it's also a big problem if your Facebook account is banned or disabled for some reason.

If your account has been disabled, you won't be able to play on your Quest 2, so it's vitally important to regain access to your account if you want to get back into gaming again. If you're in this conundrum, don't freak out. Facebook has the resources at the ready to solve your problem.

Thankfully, you'll be able to use a Meta Quest 2 without a Facebook account in the near future, but, until then, you can follow this guide to help you get your Facebook account on the right track and regain access to your Quest 2.

First, Check your Facebook app

The Facebook app will help you resolve any specific issues that might need attention. For instance, if you need to fix a payment issue that may have flagged your account, you may be able to manually resolve the issue from your phone. When logging in, if your account has been flagged for any reason, the Facebook account will show you the actions you can take to resolve it.

If you're just having trouble logging into your Facebook account, the Facebook Help Center covers many common fixes.

Getting your Facebook account unbanned

If there isn't anything you can do easily and quickly from the app, you can let Facebook know about your troubled account by submitting a ticket.

1. Head over to the Oculus Support page and submit a ticket by clicking on the Submit a support ticket link at this page.
2. Select chat, if available. Fill in your contact information with the personal information you used on your Facebook account and type a short message describing the problem you're having.
3. Select start chat when ready, and a support representative should assist you.

Sometimes chat isn't available, but sending an email can always be done instead.

1. Head over to the Oculus Support page and submit a ticket by clicking on the Submit a support ticket link at this page.
2. Select email.

3. To contact that right Facebook support channel, choose I need help with an Oculus account from the drop-down selection on the next page.

   

4. Fill out the fields with the personal information you used on your Facebook account.
5. Under the I need help with drop-down, select Accessing my Facebook account to use Oculus.
6. Finish filling out the remaining fields and click Submit at the bottom of the page.

Meta has assured us that it has human beings available 24/7 to resolve your account issue and that Quest users are prioritized because of the nature of the problem. After all, the last thing you want to deal with during such a stressful time is an auto-reply bot or canned responses.

Why are Facebook accounts being banned?

Since Meta acquired Oculus back in 2014, the company has been slowly adding its services into the Oculus ecosystem. With the Meta Quest 2, Meta decided to end standalone Oculus accounts and require all users to log in with a Facebook account, instead. This was done to combine services and simplify things for users, according to the company.

Facebook integration also makes it possible to bring services like Facebook Messenger to the Quest and Quest 2.

However, the transition has been a bit more complicated for some. It appears that some Oculus users didn't have a Facebook account before the requirement and, upon receiving a Quest 2, created new Facebook accounts. After combining this new account with an Oculus account, it appears that something on Facebook's end is being triggered and identifying the user as a "fake account." That flag comes with an immediate ban as Facebook continues to clean up its platform and reign in fake accounts.

Facebook has faced increased regulatory scrutiny since the 2016 U.S. election, a fair bit of which has been tied to accounts using false identities to spread misinformation on its platform. Since Quest 2 users must use a Facebook account to use the device, the widespread effects of regulatory scrutiny seem to erroneously affect Quest 2 users. However, Facebook says that users who find themselves in this situation shouldn't have any issue getting their accounts cleared and getting back into VR gaming.

Because of these issues and the company's rebranding to Meta, Facebook accounts will no longer be required to use a Quest 2 sometime in early 2022. Meta has given no specific date as to when this change will occur but is testing the migration on work accounts later in 2021.

What happens if my Facebook account is banned?

Right now, Facebook doesn't offer a true "offline mode" for the Quest 2 in the case of an account ban. While it's true that the Quest 2 does not require an Internet connection to work (and therefore can be played anywhere), it does require a Facebook account to operate. If your account isn't in good standing for any reason, it's possible that you can't play games or access media on the Meta Quest 2.

Facebook says that only a "very small number" of Oculus users are running into login issues and that these users are not losing access to their purchased content. At this time, however, users with a banned account are unable to use the Quest that is tied to their Facebook account.

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